


Somebody Waits For You

by exandriantrashpanda (topothesia)



Category: Critical Role (Web Series) RPF
Genre: Mistletoe, Multi, holiday fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 20:13:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17128001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/topothesia/pseuds/exandriantrashpanda
Summary: Written for the following prompt: "The Mercers hold a Christmas party for the Nein squad and hang up some mistletoe in a doorway. They got it in a corny new age shop and assume it's a gimmick, but as the night goes on - any two people who find themselves under it/in it's general vicinity for more than a few seconds find themselves compelled to smooch."





	Somebody Waits For You

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt on the critical kink meme. Thanks to the propmter and thanks to my usual first reader.

“Mistletoe? Where on earth did you get this?” Marisha says as she opens the brown-paper wrapped package that Matt has handed her. 

“Taliesin and I were out doing some last-minute shopping at one of his favorite places,” Matt says. “It’s supposed to be ‘Imbued With Mystical Energies of the Season,’” he adds, the capital letters evident in his tone. 

“Oh, that store that you always swear is actually going to disappear into its home dimension after selling one cursed object too many?” Marisha says. 

“The very same,” Matt says. “But we’re having a holiday party. I thought it was appropriate.”

“It’s not like our friends need more encouragement to be affectionate with each other,” Marisha says. “But sure, let’s put it up. Do you know where we put the stepladder?”

If Matt and Marisha end up kissing lingeringly under the bunch of mistletoe once they’ve put it up, well, they’re still technically newlyweds, right? It’s not unusual for them to kiss in their own house, or anywhere else for that matter. 

“Mistletoe?” Liam says when he sees it hanging in the hallway between the living room and the dining room on the way to put his offering of alcohol on the table. “That’s traditional of you.”

“Well, I’m sure Sam needs another embarrassing photo to put on his next con t-shirt, so feel free to make use of it,” Marisha says. 

“I’ll wait til Brian gets here to get Sam under it, then,” Liam says. “He does so love capturing those moments.”

“Mistletoe!” Laura says when she and Travis and the baby arrive. “That’s so cute.” She hands the baby to Liam, who takes him with the ease of a long practiced dad, and pulls Travis under it. He dips her showily as they kiss, and they both giggle.

“Careful,” Liam says. “That’s how you ended up with Ronin,” he says, bouncing him up and down. 

Laura laughs, and as Liam steps under the mistletoe to hand the baby back to them, both Travis and Laura kiss him simultaneously -- one pair of lips on each of his cheeks. They’re not sure why they did that, but it just seemed like a good idea at the time. 

“Well,” Liam says. “This is a party now.”

“Did someone say party?” Brian says as he and Ashley wander in and Liam, Laura, and Travis are drawn away from the mistletoe to congratulate them on their engagement before Ashley and Laura and Travis all wander off together to get a drink. “Tell me you haven’t started making out without me,” Brian says when he finally sees the mistletoe hanging up. “Or if you did, tell me it’s already on Instagram.”

“Yes to the former, no to the latter,” Liam says.

“Well, let me get my phone out, then,” Brian says, and as he aims his phone towards the mistletoe to take a picture, Liam tugs him under it and plants a kiss right on his lips. 

“Foster, are you making out with my husband?” Sam says mock-affrontedly, having arrived at precisely that moment. “You just got engaged! Shouldn’t you be smooching exclusively on your lovely fiancee?”

“He kissed me,” Brian protests. “I have photographic proof. Well, very blurry proof,” he says, squinting at his phone. 

“It’s Christmas, Sam,” Liam says. “Goodwill towards men and all that.”

Sam huffs poutily until Liam steps around Brian in order to grab Sam by his tie and pull him in for a much longer and deeper kiss that draws applause when they’re finished. 

“Tell me you did not put that on Instagram,” Liam says once he realizes what he and Sam just did and that Brian still has his phone out.

“Of course I didn't,” Brian says. “That shit’s for Twitter. Or the title card for our next Talks Machina.”

“No one is doing anything of the sort,” Marisha says imperiously. “Tonight is for us, not everyone else.”

“Yes, Creative Director,” Brian says, but he puts his phone back in his pocket. 

“C’mere,” Liam says, pulling Marisha under the kissing bunch, and he and Sam take turns kissing her for a minute.

“What was that for?” Marisha asks, but not displeasedly.

“It just seemed like the thing to do,” Sam says. “But now I need a drink. C’mon, let’s go see if there’s any tolerable alcohol.”

“Don’t I get a kiss?” Brian says to Sam.

“Maybe when I’m a little drunker,” Sam says. 

“Well, let’s go work on that, then,” Brian says as they wander towards the makeshift bar, Liam trailing along in their wake.

“This seems to be a popular spot,” Matt says to Marisha as he wanders in from the dining room, handing her a glass of wine and toasting her with his own.

“It is if you want to get kissed,” Marisha says, and kisses him. 

“Maybe I should just hang out here for a while, then,” Matt says.

“You can kiss me anywhere,” Marisha says. 

“And I do,” Matt says, kissing her again.

“Good lord, you two, get a room,” Laura says teasingly, interrupting them.

“This is our room,” Marisha says. 

“Fair enough,” Laura says, stepping closer to them. “C’mere, you,” she says, kissing Matt lightly on the lips. “And you,” she says, giving Marisha an almost identical kiss. All three of them blink at each other for a moment, as if they’re not sure exactly what gave them the idea, but then again, they’re always an affectionate bunch, aren’t they?

“The one time I show up late,” Taliesin grumbles as he walks in to see Laura kiss both Matt and Marisha. 

“There’s plenty of kisses to go around,” Marisha says, beckoning Taliesin over. “It’s not like we’re going to run out.”

“Aren’t we supposed to pluck a berry every time someone kisses someone under this?” Taliesin says. “I think there are rules.”

“Well, our house rules say we’re just gonna ignore that, because then we really would run out of opportunities,” Matt says. 

Any attempt at protest Taliesin might make is silenced by kisses in quick succession from Marisha, Matt, and Laura. 

A little while later, Taliesin’s surprised to find himself kissing Travis when they run into each other in that specific corner when Taliesin’s leaving with a drink and Travis is heading for another one, but they’re both a little drunk and, well, it’s the holidays and they all love each other, right? 

After that interaction, Taliesin wonders if there is something magical about the mistletoe, so he decides to just stand under it for a while and see what happens. For science, he tells himself. Half an hour later, he’s kissed every single person at the party, some of them more than once, and he’s decided that he doesn’t much care about why that’s happening as long as it continues to happen, especially when Matt and Marisha invite him to stay over after everyone else leaves. 

As the night goes on, almost every possible permutation of people end up under the mistletoe somehow -- usually in twos, sometimes in threes or fours, and they all end up kissing each other, whether it’s a gentle peck or a deeper more involved embrace. Sam and Brian do end up smooching drunkenly, to the great amusement of Liam and Ashley, but then Sam and Brian beckon them both over and they forget about their plans to send a video of it to Sam’s wife so that she can drag him mercilessly about it. 

“I had a lovely time,” Liam says to Matt as he takes his leave. “My holiday parties are way more sedate,” he adds. “So are Sam’s, but you knew that.”

“Ours aren’t normally quite like this,” Matt says. “But it’s been fun.”

Liam laughs and kisses Matt one more time “for good measure” before grabbing Sam by the arm and dragging him towards the door. 

***  
“Babe, did you take the mistletoe down?” Marisha asks Matt sometime the next day. “I can’t seem to find it.”

“Did it fall down on its own?” Matt asks, helping her search around on the floor.

“I don’t know, but I can’t seem to find it. Did someone take it?” Marisha asks.

“No idea,” Matt says, “But I don’t need mistletoe as an excuse to kiss you,” he says, kissing her again.


End file.
